Haircut complete. For some reason she has absolutely no qualms about letting Ali cut her hair.

Ouest got the thrill of the month when her cousins (actually my cousin’s kids) showed up for an afternoon of fun. Oh how I wish those girls lived right down the street from Grandma instead of way up north in Seattle. The girls are six and eight and about as sweet as any two girls have ever been in history. Ouest was immediately inserting her hand into theirs and happily being led anywhere and everywhere. Not to be a slouch in the happiness department Lowe walked around the patio giving big fat kisses to anybody who would accept one, and it would have to be one cold-hearted villain to turn down a kiss from Lowe when he leans into you with those chubby little cheeks and puckered lips.

My cousin David (and his brother Chris) and I spent our first couple of years of life more or less as brothers before I moved out to Minnesota. It was great to see our kids together having so much fun. I wish we could do it a lot more often.

Someone has been promising to make me oatmeal cookies for weeks now. And with the help of Ouest that someone finally succeeded. Ali and I are both hoping that Ouest will someday become the cook aboard Bumfuzzle. These cookies didn’t go off without a hitch though. First the mixing bowl wasn’t locked down and when it started up the whole contraption became jammed up. Then Grammy dropped an egg, shell and all, into the bowl. And finally Ouest managed to miss the bowl with an entire cup of flour. It was worth all the pain in the end. Thanks for teaching Ouest how to make cookies Grammy.

Visited our favorite biker (pedal variety) bar today. The restaurant/bar dedicated a small corner of the place to a play area for the kids—a genius marketing ploy. While the patio and bar area are filled with laughing, buzzed customers, the kids area is surrounded by frazzled parents trying to stick an organic french fry into their kids’ mouth while sucking down an IPA brewed on site. We’re all in the same boat—order another beer.